6/19: Tell It

My husband reads every section of the newspaper every day, and we watch the evening news because we like to know what’s going on in the world. When we read or hear interesting stories, we tell each other about them. In fact, when we’re not together, and either or us hears an interesting tidbit of news about almost any subject, we’re eager to speak with each other again so we can share the information we’ve learned.

We all should be that eager to share with anyone who will listen of the wonders of our Savior. Peter and John are great examples to us of the boldness with which we all ought to be sharing our faith. Just months after Christ’s resurrection, they found themselves standing face-to-face with the same men who condemned Jesus to be crucified. When straightly asked “by what power or by what name” had they performed the notable miracle of healing the lame man at the Beautiful gate of the temple, Peter didn’t mince his words. He courageously informed them, “Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” Acts 4:10-12 (NKJ).

Despite those strong words, the showdown wasn’t over. Those religious leaders “saw the boldness of Peter and John… and marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” Acts 4:13. They also couldn’t deny the reality of the miracle that had been performed. Their solution? “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus” Acts 4:18.

Of course, Peter and John weren’t going out like that, so they answered, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” Acts 4:19-20.

How often do we slink away from confrontation, or even from a conversation, without speaking “the things which we have seen and heard”? I missed an opportunity just the other day when the woman who owns the nail shop where I go, a devout Buddhist, said that she spends 2 hours a day reading the Bible. I have been praying about her salvation for years. Did she mean a book of Buddha’s words or the Christian Bible?

Let’s not miss any witnessing opportunities nor times to speak up and tell of the great things God has done. Be assured, the next time I have a chance to inquire of my nail shop owner, I’ll be sure to ask her what she meant and, like Peter and John, “speak the things which [I] have seen and heard.”

Pick up a copy of Sharon’s book, Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame, available now from New Hope Publishers, and get ready for Sharon’s newest release, Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children, coming this fall from Judson Press.